Wrestlers who tower over their opposition have always gotten their own spotlight in pro wrestling because of how promotions love to push these legitimately larger-than-life wrestlers, who could overpower their opponents and help bring some legitimacy to the product. WWE has especially shown the willingness to push larger wrestlers over the years; we have seen many monster heels come and go after the turn of the century, while some large individuals also got pushed as faces, with some failing and some profiting from it.

The WWE has brought in many large wrestlers during the 21s century so far, but only a few managed to shine and survive in the company in the long run, while many others were shown the door. Despite losing their positions in WWE, many of these wrestlers managed to attain some popularity in other promotions because of their intimidating nature and reputation, with some even excelling to become top stars elsewhere.

Some other large wrestlers headed towards a new career path, with some of them leaving wrestling to do something else in their careers. Not every "big man" who has come and gone in the WWE in the new century is remembered by the fans, as we take a look at what these 21 largest wrestlers from the 21st century are doing nowadays.

21 Snitsky

Snitsky made quite an impact upon his arrival in WWE, as he caused Lita's miscarriage (kayfabe) and got into a brutal feud with Kane. He played the role of a psychotic heel perfectly and had the big physique to back it up, and was put over by Kane, but failed to maintain his momentum and wrestled for B-shows later. After getting some momentum back from ECW, he was again downgraded to a lower-mid carder and never fulfilled his potential as a top heel on the main roster.

After being released by WWE, Snitsky started wrestling in the Independent scene and even wrestled for TNA in 2014. He became a pitchman for a pressure cooker company and did a video on Youtube promoting it, as he seems to have a balanced life right now, occasionally wrestling on the Indy circuit and working as a landlord on the side as well.

20 Albert

Albert seemed like quite the vicious monster heel when he appeared in WWE after the turn of the century, but could never become a top star despite being an intimidating individual. He spent many years in WWE mostly putting others over, before moving to Japan where he was treated pretty well. Albert won the NJPW Tag Team titles in NJPW twice as his intimidating, big character loved to dish out pain to others.

Albert came back to WWE in 2012 where he started portraying the character of Lord Tensai who was this Japanese-inspired character intent on destroying his opponents. His new look seemed impressive before WWE sided him with Brodus Clay and took away all of his intimidating nature. Albert retired from wrestling a few years back and has been the head trainer at the WWE Performance Center and head coach in NXT.

19 Tyler Reks

Tyler Reks looked like quite the intimidating wrestler when he debuted in the WWE many years ago and despite being impressive in Florida Championship Wrestling, he failed to succeed on the main roster. Reks was mostly a lower mid-carder who put other stars over in WWE. Despite his large size, he was mostly part of a jobber tag team with Curt Hawkins and ended his WWE career after trying out a gimmick that ultimately failed.

After being released from WWE, Reks decided to try something else for himself, co-founding an internet marketing company called Local Marketing 2.0. He even tried to run for senator in 2013, something he failed at. He is also the founder of Body Spartan, a fitness website which helps in curbing obesity among its customers, enabling them to live a more healthy lifestyle.

18 Tyson Tomko

Tyson Tomko may be more fondly remembered for his time as Christian's "enforcer" in both WWE and TNA as he played the role of a bodyguard to perfection because of his size and intimidating nature. Tomko was a great tag team wrestler and won the IWGP Tag Team Titles and TNA Tag Team titles twice in his career and was part of some interesting storylines in both. But substance abuse problems derailed his career for a bit after a robbery crime forced him to check into rehab.

Tomko recovered well from his addiction and returned to the Independent circuit, where he occasionally wrestled in low-key promotions before retiring in 2016. He's now a changed man after marrying a professional bodybuilder named Bethany. He's now a motivational speaker and has his own fitness center named Purlife Fitness where he also works as a physical trainer.

17 Nathan Jones

Nathan Jones looked like the next big thing when he debuted as The Undertaker's protege in WWE and was supposed to compete in a tag team match with him at WrestleMania XIX, but was pulled at the last minute because he was still too green in the ring. Jones later returned as a psychotic character and received a good push because of his destructive nature, but decided to leave the WWE as he was tired of the traveling and hectic schedule.

Despite leaving WWE, the big man went on to wrestle occasionally in the Independent scene over the next few years and started to look towards a career in movies. He did have short roles in movies like Conan The Barbarian and Mad Max: Fury Road and looks to have consolidated a good position for himself in the cinematic world because of his ability to portray a convincing villain.

16 Awesome Kong

Awesome Kong was one of the major reasons for the rise of the Knockout's Division in TNA, as she brought a lot of legitimacy with her towering figure and was a terror for the other Knockouts. Kong dominated as a monster heel in TNA, where she won the TNA Knockout's Championship twice and the TNA Knockout's Tag Team titles as well, having an extremely dominant reign before she left for WWE in 2010.

But her WWE career was a failure as she had a very short stint; her appearance in the 2012 Royal Rumble match was the high point before she left WWE following her pregnancy. Kong attained mainstream success when she became a part of the hit Netflix show Glow and is flying high as a mainstream entertainment star these days.

15 Ryback

Ryback looked like an able replacement for Batista when he was repackaged as "The Big Guy" and given a monster push by WWE, who had him headline many PPVs after he returned from injury. But Ryback could never win the big gold and after a point, WWE got tired of pushing him and downgraded him into a mid-carder, where he won the Intercontinental Championship late into his WWE career and left the company in 2016 because of frustrations with his position.

Ryback went on to wrestle in the Independent scene after leaving WWE, where he appeared for some rather low-key promotions and was treated like quite the star in them. He has his own podcast now called "Conversations With The Big Guy" where he reviews many wrestling shows and provides interesting tales of his wrestling life.

14 Chris Masters

"The Masterpiece" Chris Masters was given a big push by WWE initially after impressing everyone with his muscular physique which made him look larger-than-life, something which WWE has always liked in its wrestlers. After making him look dominant for so long, WWE seemingly grew tired of him and reduced him to being a lower mid-carder for years, as he spent the rest of his career putting over other stars before leaving WWE in 2011.

Since then, he's tried his luck on the Independent scene and because of his reputation has gotten good work, even appearing for Global Force Wrestling and Impact recently. He was mostly the "muscle man" for the top stars in Impact and did his job pretty well, but left them recently looking for a new adventure. Going by his impressive work in recent years, a return to WWE can be on the cards.

13 Kevin Nash

Kevin Nash might have been at his peak during the 90s, but he held his own as one of the popular "larger" men in the wrestling business in the new century and returned to WWE after they bought WCW. Nash spent a few years in WWE being part of some intricate feuds before he decided to leave and join TNA. His popularity escalated TNA's ratings as he was one of their top guys, winning the TNA Legends Championship and Tag Team titles twice and being part of some top-level feuds.

Nash decided to return to WWE in 2011 when he returned in the Royal Rumble match as "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel and signed a legends contract with them. He was part of some intriguing storylines later on with Triple H and CM Punk, but mostly does promotional work for them as an ambassador, occasionally appearing in WWE programming in big events.

12 The Great Khali

The Great Khali was quite the gigantic spectacle introduced by the WWE in the mid-2000s when he arrived and unleashed hell upon Smackdown! superstars, even defeating the likes of The Undertaker early in his career. Khali received a monster push in which he won the World Heavyweight Title later on as well, but his baby-face turn to becoming a "Punjabi Flavor" hindered his reputation and toned him down to a friendly giant.

Khali left the WWE in 2014 after spending many years in the company, as he wanted to open his own wrestling promotion in India called "Continental Wrestling Entertainment". Khali is the booker and head trainer of that promotion, which also received some recognition from WWE recently. Khali event re-appeared in WWE last year when he helped Jinder Mahal win the Punjabi Prison match against Randy Orton, but seems to be more intent on making his hometown promotion a success.

11 Matt Morgan

After failing to do anything prolific in WWE, Matt Morgan found his home when he joined TNA in the mid-2000s and became a towering figure in their roster. He played the roles of a monster heel and babyface really well and his "Blue Print" gimmick went over with the fans, allowing him to win the TNA Tag Team Titles twice. Despite not getting much "main-event" push, Morgan was always treated as a top star in TNA where he demolished many in his path before leaving in 2013.

While Morgan kept on wrestling, he started following other ventures as he currently reviews the editions of Raw, Smackdown and WWE PPV's on the Wrestling Inc podcast. He even returned to TNA last year for an impressive short stint but is nowadays busy as the District 4 City Commissioner of Longwood, Florida, and intent on excelling at a politician.

10 Batista

"The Animal" Batista was brought in by WWE to be their next monster and he amazingly fulfilled that as he created a path of destruction in the years he was at the company. Batista gained relevance initially as the "Muscle-man" of Evolution before he turned on Triple H to win the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 21 and solidify himself as the top dog of WWE, as he was as the perfect main-eventer for them before Hollywood came calling.

Batista has been part of many popular movies but is widely known for reprising "Drax the Destroyer" in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies and has attained a lot of mainstream popularity because of it. While he did have a short run when he returned to WWE in 2013, winning the Royal Rumble match and putting over Daniel Bryan and the Shield, he's too busy in shooting or promotion his movies these days.

9 Ezekiel Jackson

Ezekiel Jackson looked like an able monster heel when he debuted as "The" Brian Kendrick's bodyguard and helped him win many matches, with his power and intimidating looks terrorizing many wrestlers in WWE. Jackson impressed officials enough to earn a push in ECW, where he was the final ECW Champion and later won the Intercontinental Championship on the main roster. He was compelling as this big, powerful man in WWE but consistent injuries derailed his career and forced WWE to release him.

Jackson joined Lucha Underground after leaving WWE and was part of an evil stable, for whom he pummelled many competitors. He spent a year or so at Lucha Underground, but is now the owner and promoter of his own wrestling promotion named Bryckhouse Pro Wrestling. He's also helping out blooming wrestlers as head trainer and seems to have settled down pretty well in the past few years.

8 Brodus Clay

Brodus Clay might be remembered by WWE fans as the dancing, happy-go-lucky big man who loved to have fun and crush his opponents during the matches. The "Funkasaurus" was actually given a decent push after his debut, but soon got downgraded into becoming this jobber to the stars after the fans lost interest in him. He was sent to NXT in the last few months of his WWE career where he failed to do anything interesting and was released in 2014.

Clay was almost immediately signed by TNA, who gave him a big push as a legitimate monster heel which he portrayed superbly. While Clay mostly wrestled in a tag team, he was treated much better by TNA which he only recently left. Clay is also a Fox News Contributor and Political Commentator on The Greg Gutfeld Show and is looking for a new venture having left TNA recently.

7 Scott Steiner

Scott Steiner re-debuted as "Big Poppa Pump" in the WWE in 2002 and was given a decent main-event push because of his muscular figure. But WWE wasn't completely sure of him being their "top guy" and some issues between them meant that he had a rather short reign in WWE before moving to TNA. Steiner actually did some great work in TNA where he was part of some top-level feuds and created some entertaining content.

After many years with TNA, Steiner left them in 2012 after some problems with management and started wrestling occasionally in the Independent scene. He also tried to open some business venture, opening his own restaurant named Shoney's a few years ago and trying out some other things. But he returned to TNA very recently, winning the TNA Tag Titles with Eli Drake as it seems that "Big Poppa Pump" is ready to "crush" people even at this age.

6 Rikishi

Rikishi was one of the most entertaining guys in the WWE even after the turn of the century, with his ability to destroy wrestlers and entertain fans with his dancing being a delight to watch. Not only did he do pretty well during a short stint as a heel, but even in his final years at WWE, he did great work at entertaining the fans and putting over many wrestlers on Smackdown! as well.

While he left WWE in 2004 after rifts with management, Rikishi continued wrestling in the Independent circuit and even spent a year wrestling for TNA. He traveled around the globe to compete and was recalled by WWE in 2012, as he has made a few sporadic performances here and there. The WWE Hall of Famer continues wrestling occasionally in the Independent circuit and his love for wrestling will always have him putting on an entertaining show for the fans.

5 Heidenreich

Heidenreich looked like quite the dangerous monster heel once he arrived in WWE and it was his feud with the Undertaker which made him look even more menacing. Heidenreich portrayed his psychopathic gimmick perfectly and his intimidating nature made him look like a legitimate monster who loved to dish out pain on other wrestlers. But all his good work was destroyed once he became part of the "new" Legion of Doom as a babyface, as he was released soon after.

After his release, Heidenreich would wrestle in the Independent circuit and wrestled for World Wrestling Council for a year or so as well. He returned to the ring after almost nine years recently in February when he competed at the "Battle of the Border" event, but his decision at suing WWE for incurring brain damages has permanently put any chances of him making a return the company to rest.

4 Vladimir Kozlov

Vladimir Kozlov looked like the perfect foreign monster heel for WWE when he debuted as this hard-hitting competitor with nasty moves meant to hurt wrestlers. Kozlov was given a monster push at first but once he lost to Triple H, everything started tumbling for him. He didn't have that momentum anymore and after being changed into an awkward baby-face, all his potential went bust. While Kozlov won the Tag Team titles with Santino Marella as a babyface, he wasn't utilized properly by WWE who released him in 2011.

Kozlov went onto wrestle for the Inoki Gnome Federation for some-time, but quickly changed his course of career into something completely different. He's currently the owner of a production company in Florida and has appeared as a stunt-man and cameo roles in many action movies over the years, with his current ripped physical appearance probably making WWE regret their decision at every releasing him.

3 Mordecai / Kevin Thorn

Mordecai seemed like a very intriguing character when it debuted in the mid-2000s in WWE, with the religious gimmick suiting well on Kevin Thorn who was quite the intimidating big-man. But the character of Mordecai didn't last very long and years later in WWE's ECW, Thorn began portraying a vampire-inspired character. He was part of some intriguing storylines as part of the New Breed, in which Thorn was the "muscle" of the group and did good work as a monster heel for them.

But he was again released by WWE later on for his poor wrestling skills, after which he started wrestling in the Independent circuit and has been wrestling for numerous low-key wrestling promotions around America. Apart from occasionally wrestling, Mordecai is also a real estate agent in the Central Indiana area and is now a settled man looking to prove to his family.

2 Mike Knox

Mike Knox looked quite the menacing character when he debuted in WWE's version of "ECW", helping put over "Kelly Kelly" and had a prolonged feud with CM Punk. He was later moved to the main shows and treated like a lower-mid carder but maintained his heel nature when he kept on destroying wrestlers smaller than him. Knox was later released by WWE and worked for the Independent circuit for a bit, before moving to TNA in 2012.

Knox was part of the Aces & Eights stable in TNA where he helped Bully Ray with his matches, before being kicked out of that stable and creating his own called the "Menagerie". Despite being part of multiple powerful stables, Knox wasn't utilized that well by TNA, making him leave in 2015 after which he joined the Inoki Genome Federation, where he's wrestling these days and trying to dominate over as a monster heel.